The Dark Hearts

Chapter 2: Octavia

It's been an hour and neither the tow truck nor Clarke has come back. It seemed like I was the only one to notice my best friend's absence. Her parents did not even seem concerned that their daughter has run off to the woods for so long.

"It's normal. She will find her way back," Mr. Deimos reassured me when I asked.

"She's probably just exploring," her sister, Sarah said as she texted away on her phone.

Why aren't they worried? I've known Clarke to disappear for a couple of days or weeks, but it is just weird to disappear off the side of the road.

Her mother was quiet as she leaned on the passenger side door.

"Mrs. Deimos?" She looked at me. "You okay?"

"Aw, Octavia, I am just going to miss not having my daughter around this year. I know she's had a year of college already, but this time she won't be home for Christmas or any of the breaks."

"Hey, you'll see her in the Bahamas at Christmas."

"Yeah, but it won't be the same as having her in the house." Mrs. Deimos got quiet again, so I walked to the edge of the wood. There was nothing but pitch black ahead. I didn't see Clarke turn on the flashlight on her phone.

I heard the trees rustle to my left and a soft beam of light bounced up and down towards the cars. Clarke emerged from the trees, breathing heavily.

Her hair was disheveled and consisted of multiple leaves. I ran to her and looked her over.

"Where were you? Why did you leave for so long? What if the tow truck came and you were still out there?"

"Shhh, honey. Sorry. I saw a deer and wanted to take a picture of it. I got really close." She shows me a photo of the deer she saw, but I was too upset to really look at it.

"But an hour? What happened out there?"

Clarke blinked and brushed her brunette braids off off her shoulders. "Okay, so I got a little lost on the walk back."

She took my wrists. "Don't worry about me so much, Octi."

Clarke shrugged me off and I finally saw the flashes from the tow truck streaming down the highway.

I watched as my parents' car was lifted onto the back of the truck. Clarke sat cross-legged on the grass, pulling at small blades and blowing on them between her thumbs. As she exhaled, the grass let out a low whistle.

I smiled despite myself. I always found Clarke interesting as she was the type of person to entertain herself in the strangest ways. At a party once, Clarke had made a xylophone out of beer cans and bottles.

"Octavia?" I heard my father call me. I went over to where he stood.

"Dad?"

"I'm sorry sweetie. Your stuff is all in the van and it is out of commission until tomorrow when we can get the part that we need."

"It's a good thing that the boat doesn't leave the port until the end of the weekend," my mother came up behind my dad and squeezed his arm.

"Carlisle, could we squeeze our suitcases in your car? We can get a taxi and meet you at the hotel." my dad addressed Mr. Deimos casually.

Mr. Deimos nodded and loaded our suitcases in his car. Clarke gracefully stood and wrapped her arm around me.

"Alright, kiddo, you're gonna squeeze in here with us." Clarke then pushed me in between her and Sarah, who was napping again.

When the taxi arrived for my parents, we were on our way again. Clarke was listening to music and looking out her window. Our arms were linked, and sometimes I felt her arm tense and flex. I mostly watched the trees go by as the night became darker with each passing minute.